Recoil and counter-recoil brake for guns



E. E. HGNSBERG.

REcoIL AND COUNTER HEcolL BRAKE FOR GUNS.

APPLICATION FILED AUILZ, 1921.

Patented Apr. 4? 31922 |I|I I 1 IIINIVIILIIIIIILI-I|I-II-I-I.I|I-II..I|Il IIII-II L..rE

narran sans earner, eine.

mm E. HONSBERG, OF WASHINGTON, DISTRICT F COLUMBIA.

RECIL COUNTER-RECOIL BRAKE FOR GUNS.

nenne-2a.

specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Apr. d, 1922.

.Application iled August 26, 1921. Serial No. 495,449.

, ments in Recoil and Counter-Recoil Brakes v ing supported and guided,in its movement for Gillis; and l do hereby declare the following to bea full, clear, and exact description of the invention, such as willenable others skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and usethe same.

The invention relates to a novel and useful hydraulic brake for heavyordnance or artillery, and has for its object a simple and effectivedevice of the character indicated, involving but few parts or elementsand operating with certainty and deniteness not only in taking care ofthe recoil when the gun is fired, but also serving as a highlyefxficient check or brake for the counter recoil.

To these ends the invention comprises a cylinder formed with, or securedtothe cradle, or to the gun, having a length slightly more than twicethe length of the normal recoil of 'the gun, in which works a pistonrod, connected at one end to a lug on the breech end of the gun, or tothe cradle or other stationary part of the mount, said rod beingprovided with two spaced pistons, one of which is solid, and serves as abrake or check for the reco-il, and the other of which is provided witha port or passage, with which cooperates a check valve, which port `isfreely opened during the recoil stroke of the device and is closed bysaid check valve during the counter recoil stroke of said device, theinterior of the brake cylinder preferably being provided withlongitudinal grooves which taper from each end toward the mid section ofthe cylinder, where they are deepest, which grooves provide for thegradual escape'of the iuid inthe cylinder past the pistons in both therecoil and counter recoil checking operations.

The invention is illustrad inthe' -accompanyingdrawing, in which the'figure'is a, longitudinal section through .the brake mechanism asapplied toa heavy gun, 4the latter being indicated by dotted lines.

Referring to the drawing, 1 indicates the barrel of the gun, the breechend of which is provided with a lug 2, the gun barrel beduring recoiland counter recoil, in a cradle or slide. 3, which is more or lessdiagrammatically illustrated. Either formed integrally with the cradle3, or, preferably, supported in a generally tubular bearing in saidcradle is a cylinder 4, having a length somewhat in excess of twice thelength of the normal recoil ofthe gun. One endI of said cylinder isclosed by a cap 5, which may be formed integrally with the cylinder, andis provided with a cylindrical bearing for the rod of the recoil brake,and a suitable gland or stuiing boX which is to prevent leakage aboutthe brake rod. The other end of the cylinder 4 is closed by a removablecap 7, which may be'securcd in position byl any suitable means, andforms a fluid tight joint with the cylinder end; said cap 7 is likewise'I provided with a cylindrical bore,v forming a bearing for the brake rodand fitted with a gland or stufiing box 8, as indicated.

Slidably mounted in the caps, constituting the closures for the ends ofthe cylinder 4,l

is a brake rod, which may be formed of one y piece, but which forconvenience of manufacture and assemblage comprises two cylindricalsections 9 and 10, connected together` within the cylinder by means of athreaded socket joint such as 12. intermediate the length of section 10of the rod, there is provided a solid piston 13 which may, if desired,be formed integrally with the rod, and which accurately fits the bore ofthe cylinder 4, said piston constituting the check'o-r brake for therecoil, in which respect it does not differ materially from the ordinarytype of recoil brake or check heretofore employed. The forward end ofthe rod section 10 is prof vided with a piston 14, having one or moreopenings 16 therethrough, surrounded by a tapering rim l5, constitutinga valve seat.

The end or the rod section 10 in front of the piston 14 is preferablyreduced in cross section andV has mounted thereon for free slidingmovement a check` valve 17, which A to said rod section by any suitablemeans.'

As a matter of convenience, the rpiston is formed as an annular' rimconnected with the rod or hub portion by radial webs or weight of thegun is small.

I fins 'to vleave free passageway through the piston. l

It will be understood that the brake cylinder 4V is filled with 'asuitable fluidsuchas oil and, when the gun is fired, the barrel .1

runs back in the cradle 'carrying with 1t the rodand pistons of thebrake mechanism.

During the initial part of the recoil 'the the movement of the pistonand gradually -P brings the gun barrel to rest. In order to return thegun to battery, it is provided with the usual recuperators. which may beof any appropriate type, and which are not illustrated for this reason.Inasmuch as the modern type of heavy ordnance isl designed to be firedat elevations of 47 deg. to 65 deg., it will be appreciated that if therecuperator Amechanism is made powerful enough to return the heavy gunand recoiling parts to battery at 65 deg. elevation,

there will be a great excess of recuperative power when the gun y1s atziero degrees orA at -7 deg. depression. It was therefore foundnecessary to devise an automatic brake or buffer that would effectivelytake up the widely varying energy of the counter recoil andnevertheless' permit the gun to bev promptly returned tobattery withoutundue shock. valve 17 cooperating with 4piston 14 opens and allows theoil in the` cylinder to pass freely through the openings inl saidpiston.v On counter recoil the valve 17 instantly en-l gages seat inpiston 14 andcloses the opening 16 through the piston, so that the oilcan only escape from the forward portion of the cylinder 4 through thethrottling grooves 20 cutin the walls of the cylinder along the path oftravel of this piston. The portions of the grooves 20 cooperating withthe piston 14 aremuch smaller in cro s sectional area than the portionsof the ooves cooperating with the recoil piston 13 solthat the movementof the gun on counter recoil is effectively controlled. f- If thegun isata high angle of elevation, it moves slowly into battery, as the forcereturning it to battery is equal to the effective pull of therecuperator minus the componentvof the weight of the gun in the samedirection minus frictional resistancesf In this case the pressuredeveldped in the cylinder during counter recoil is small. If, however,the gun is at a low angle of elevation or is actually depressed, when inbattery,- the recuperator tends'vto throw the gun into battery at a highvelocity since the component of the Therefore.. a high pressure isdeveloped in the cylinder uring the recoil stroke the check.

whichquickly Vreduces thevelocity of the recoiling parts.- The system isthus automatic between wide limits of elevation," and controls the, gunso that it will move .slowly and'smoothly into battery at all angles ofelevation. `It will benoted that during the maj or portion of the travelof piston 13 during counter recoil :saidY plston traverses theportionsof grooves 20 h aying the enlarged cross section, so that the oil canescape freely past this piston during the counter recoil and -saidpiston therefore offers very little resistance to the Icounter recoilwhich latter, however, Vis effectively taken care of by iston 14 asdescribed.

Although only one recoil and counter re- `coil brake is illustrated inconnection with the gun, it will be understoodthat they may vbeeffectively used in pairs, or in any desired number and may also beemployed in connection with ordinary counter recoil buffers,

Aor variable recoil systems, but in a large majority of cases the simpleform of apparatus as illustrated will be found suicient area of thecounter recoil buffer is the sameasthat of the recoil piston thuspermitting theemployment of low pressures with 4maximum control; thedevice avoids the complication inherent in variable counter recoilbuffers in which variable resistance is ob tained by mechanicallyvarying an orifice to suit the angle of elevation of the gun; theconstruction and arrangement of the device *is exceptionally simple andinvolves the fewest possible number of correlated parts, none of whichis fliable to derangement or damage during the normal operation thereof;and nally the construction and arrangement of the brake permits thelatter to be applied to the standard gun and its mount without involvingany vmaterial changes in the latter from standard practice.

It is to beunderstood that the particular construction .aild relativearrangement of parts, as illustrated and described, are merely exemplaryand may be varied as desired, to conform to standard practice ondifferent types of stationary and mobile ordnance, or to. meet specialconditions. For example, the recoil cylinder may be secured to the gunbarrel so as to move therewith 'and thebrake or piston rod secured tothe cradle or other stationary part of the gun` mount; also the order ofthe recoil and counof the brake as a Whole. 4 The right to use theinvention' described' ter recoil pistons lmay be reversed Withoutchanging or varying the proper functioning herein is hereby assigned tothe United States Government for its use Without the payment of royaltythereon.

What I claim is 1. Fluid brake mechanism for guns comprising a brakecylinder, spaced pistons in said cylinder one piston being solid and theother piston having a port therethrough, a rod connect-ing'. saidpistons and connected to a gun' part, a check valve cooperating with theported piston to open said port during the recoil stroke and close theport during the counter recoil stroke, and means for throttlin'g theflow of the fluid past the pistons.

2. Fluid brake mechanism for guns comprising a brake cylinder, spacedpistons in said cylinder one piston beingsolid and the other pistonhaving a port therethrough, a rod vconnecting said pistons and connectedto a gun part, a check valve cooperating with said ported vpiston toopen said portduring the recoil stroke and close the port during thecounter recoil stroke, and grooves in the cylinder Wall for throttlingthe fiow oi' the fluid past the pistons.

3. Fluid brake mechanism for guns comprising a br'ake cylinder, spacedpistonsin said cylinder one piston being solid and the other pistonhaving a port therethrough, a rod connecting said pistons and connectedto a gun part, a check valve cooperating with saidA ported piston toopen said port duringd the recoil stroke and close the port during thecounter recoil stroke, and groovesl in the cylinder Wall increasingl incross section from the ends-ofthe cylinder towards the middle thereoffor throwing the aow of the Huid past the pistons.

4. Fluid brake mechanism for guns comprising a stationary cylinderhaving throttlinggrooves formed longitudinally of its v Y inner Walls, arod traversing said cylinder and connected at one end -to the breech ofthe gun, a recoil brake piston on said rod intermediate the endsthereof, a counter recoil buii'er piston on said rod near the forward`end thereof having a port there--k i through, and a'c'heck valvecooperating with said buffer piston to open the port during the recoilof the gun and to close said port during counter recoil.

5. Fluid brake. mechanism for guns com prising' a stationary cylinder, arod extending through the ends of said cylinder and connected at one endto the breech of the gun, a recoilvhrake piston 'on said rodint-ermediate the ends thereof, a counter recoil buiier piston on saidrod spaced forwardly EMIL E. nonsense.

